Top 10 Wild Animals of Himalayas in India

The great Himalaya house the world’s highest peak on Earth i.e. Mount Everest and NOT a region of grasslands of plains but still there are list of wild animals found in Himalayan region of India.

Some of the most elusive, endangered, extremely rare and beautiful wild animals found In The Himalayas or Himalayan Wildlife are Snow Leopard, Red Panda, Himalayan Tahr, Kashmir stag, Musk Deer and Himalayan Black Bear.

Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia)

Snow Leopard is native to the snow mountain ranges of the Great Himalayas in India from the extremely difficult rugged terrains to snow capped rocky mountains. The big cat is the Apex predator of the Himalayas.

Wild Yak (Bos mutus)

Himalayan Wild Yak is a long-haired bovine found throughout the Himalayan region of India. The massively-built animal with a drooping head are among the largest bovids with males standing about 6 feet tall at shoulder.

Bharal – Blue Sheep (Pseudois nayaur)

Himalayan Blue Sheep is a goat-antelope or caprid found only in the high hill of Himalayan mountains. The wild Himalayan sheep is a member of Bovidae family and one of the known species of wild goat found in India.

Himalayan Black Bear (Ursus thibetanus laniger)

Himalayan Black Bear is one of the two rare species of bear found in Himalaya, Himalayan Brown Bear and Himalayan black bear. The Himalayan black bear is also known as Indian black bear is a vulnerable species due to deforestation and active hunting for its body parts.

Himalayan Brown Bear (Ursus arctos isabellinus) is a rare subspecies of the brown bear occurring in the western Himalayas, through the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand in India.

Musk Deer (Moschus leucogaster)

Himalayan Musk Deer or White-bellied musk deer are belongs to the family Moschidae and lives in Himalaya mountain ranges. Himalayan musk deer habitats in hilly, forested environments, generally far from human habitation and eat mainly leaves, flowers, and grasses.

Himalayan Wolf (Canis lupus chanco)

Himalayan Wolf is a critically endangered animal and one of the 2 species of wolf found in India.The habitat of the Himalayan Wolf are very wild and remote wilderness of the Himalayan Mountains, also spotted in the Spiti Valley of Himachal Pradesh and can be found living in Ladakh in the Himalayas.

Himalayan Tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus)

Himalayan Tahr is the relative of wild goats, native habitat to rugged wooded hills and mountain slopes of the Himalaya. The Himalayan tahr is one of three species of tahr found in India, other two are Arabian tahr and Nilgiri tahr.

Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens)

Red Panda is a cat bear and arboreal mammal of India, native to the eastern Himalayas to north east Indian states. The endangered Red Panda live in temperate climates, in deciduous and coniferous forests, usually with an understorey of bamboo and hollow trees.

Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

Red fox population is continue to decline due to habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching, and inbreeding depression. The endangered Red fox can be spotted in Ladakh and known as “watse” in Ladakhi language.

Kashmir Stag (Cervus hanglu hanglu)

The Kashmir stag also called hangul in India, one of the Endangered and Endemic red deer in India, Found around the Kashmir and surrounding areas, valleys and mountains of Jammu and Kashmir and northern Himachal Pradesh.

Himalayan Palm Civet, Orange-bellied Himalayan squirrel, Himalayan marmot, Himalayan pika and Yellow-throated marten are few lesser known species of wild animals found in Indian Himalayas.

Adding Himalayan Birds Found in India – Birds of Himalayas

Indian Himalayas is heaven for birds, including both local and migratory. Some of the most common species of birds found in the Himalayas of India are Golden Eagle, Himalayan Monal, Himalayan Vulture, Kalij pheasant, Black-necked Crane and Lammergeier – Bearded Vulture.

Golden Eagle – The golden eagle is the largest species of eagle found in India, Hunt on a variety of prey, including fox, hares, marmots and wild goat-sheep of Himalayas.

Himalayan Griffon Vulture – It is one of the two largest vultures found in India and NOT a true raptor but is the largest and heaviest bird in the Himalayas.

Bearded Vulture – Also known as the lammergeier and ossifrage, is a very large bird of prey in India, also found through the Himalayas of Nepal.

Himalayan Monal – Himalayan monal is one of the most beautiful bird found in the Himalayan forests and shrublands at elevations of 2,100–4,500 m (6,900–14,800 ft).

Satyr Tragopan – Another beautiful species of pheasant found in the Himalayan reaches of India, Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan.

Himalayan Snowcock is a snowcock in the pheasant family Phasianidae found across the Himalayan ranges and parts of the Asia.

Black-necked Crane – The black-necked crane is a large-sized crane and bird of Ladakh, that breeds on the Tibetan Plateau and remote parts of India and Bhutan.

The list goes to endless species of birds found in the Himalayas, listed few more here as Himalayan black bulbul, Himalayan rubythroat, Great barbet, Himalayan rosefinch, Crested Kingfisher, Himalayan woodpecker, Himalayan thrush, Yellow-billed blue magpie, and Long-tailed broadbill.